“Thin Mints” by Amy

March 8, 2017; SFGate

There are any number of ingredients that go into a successful fundraiser and there is a whole science around the successful placement of businesses, so this story really should come as no surprise. Apparently some Girl Scout troops in Colorado and California have cottoned on to the fact that cookie sales outside of local marijuana dispensaries are brisk. One 13-year old named Danielle found this out in February 2014 when she managed to sell 117 boxes in front of the Green Cross dispensary in San Francisco one day and about a quarter as much outside the local Safeway the next.

The Girl Scouts of Colorado tweeted its objection to the strategy when the practice popped up there but the Girl Scouts of Northern California says the question is up to the parents to resolve.

Danielle’s mom, Carol Lei, told the East Bay Express she thought it was perfectly safe and it allowed her to have a reasonable conversation with her daughter about drug use. It also made her look cool for a hot sec she admitted.

Now SFGate reports that one troop has taken it to another level:

A Girl Scout troop made a business-savvy decision in an unlikely partnership with a medical cannabis dispensary to raise money to help city kids pay for college.

Troop 31678 challenged the Apothecarium, located in the Castro on Market Street, to see who could bring in the most donors (not dollars) to the Kindergarten to College (K2C) fund-raising campaign last week. The wager was the losing team would have to bake cookies for the winning team.

The challenge ended Saturday, March 4, and the Girl Scouts won by a landslide, attracting 65 donors while the dispensary had 37. The effort raised $867, for K2C, a city-backed program that encourages families to begin saving for college when their children begin kindergarten.

Meanwhile, Danielle is still selling in front of dispensaries including Apothecarium which is quite welcoming of the complementary effort. When Danielle sells cookies out front they match the number of boxes she sells.

“One of the reasons we love hosting Danielle in front of our dispensary is it’s a very clear message that dispensaries are safe,” said Eliot Dobris, speaking for the Apothecarium. “They’re not a threat to the neighborhood. In some neighborhoods dispensaries actually reduce crime.” – Ruth McCambridge